As the boat skimmed ever closer towards Eternity, Jackie grew less apprehensive of the water. The green faded from her skin. She even managed to laugh when Samantha told her a story about her first day on the island when she fell into the stream and Prudence had to fish her out.
“Mommy, look!” Jackie said, pointing to land on the horizon. “Is that it?”
“That’s it, sweetie.” As they drew nearer the island, Samantha’s stomach fluttered and not because of the baby. She and Prudence had exchanged brief letters over the last eight years, but neither of them were very good at expressing their feelings on paper. Samantha didn’t know what to expect when they met again.
Her first surprise came when she found the Primrose tied to a floating dock composed of rusty oil drums, halved car tires, and wooden planks. She tied her little boat to the other side of the dock and then helped Jackie up onto the walkway. “This feels funny,” Jackie said. “Is it safe?”
“It’s safe,” Samantha said, taking her daughter’s hand. The dock led to a path of crushed seashells and stones along the beach. The path continued into the forest, ropes and netting along the edges to keep the way clear. Samantha knew this to be Wendell’s work; he had once suggested this to her, but at the time they didn’t have the resources for the project.
Jackie pressed close to Samantha, her eyes searching the forest for signs of danger. “There’s nothing to worry about, sweetie. Nothing in the trees will hurt us,” Samantha said.
Not a second after the words came out of her mouth, she heard a small voice call for help from in the forest. “Someone help me please!” the voice squeaked.
“Stay here, sweetie. I’ll see what’s the matter.”
“Mommy, I’m scared.”
“I know, but you have to be brave for Mommy. Can you do that?” Jackie nodded. “That’s my girl. I’ll be right back. Don’t you go anywhere.”
Samantha stepped over the fencing into the forest. The trees seemed much smaller and lower now than she remembered as a child. The voice calling for help grew closer and more plaintive with each moment.
At last Samantha pushed aside a set of branches and almost fell over with fright. A pale, freckle-faced girl not much older than Jackie had caught her waist-length red hair in the brush just as little Prudence had eight years ago. “Please help me,” the girl said. “I’m all tangled up in these stupid branches. Mama is going to kill me when she finds out.”
“Don’t worry, honey, I’ll get you out,” Samantha said.
“I didn’t mean to go into the forest,” the girl said. “I was walking along the path and then I saw a bunny alongside the road and I got to following it. Next thing you know I got all caught up like this. Mama’s going to cut all my hair off for sure. She threatened to do it before and now she will.”
“I’m sure your mother wouldn’t cut off your hair,” Samantha said. She unsnarled one curly tress at a time, the girl whimpering or yelping on occasion. After a few minutes, Samantha freed the girl and pulled her from the brush.
“Thank you so much,” the girl said. “I might have been stuck there all night if you hadn’t come along. I don’t remember seeing you around here before. Are you a visitor?”
“You could say that. I used to live here along time ago, before you were born. My name is Samantha. What’s yours?”
“Molly,” she said. Samantha almost fainted at this. This couldn’t be Molly Brigham. She had died. Unless someone had figured out how to revive the Fountain of Youth. Molly solved Samantha’s confusion when she said, “Molly Palmer. My parents live just up the road.”
“Are your parents named Prudence and Wendell?”
“Yes. They’re my mommy and daddy. How did you know?”
“I’m a friend of your mother.”
“Oh, you’re Aunt Samantha. Mommy said you were coming.” Molly squinted at Samantha and then shook her head. “From the stories Mommy’s told me I didn’t think you’d be so fat.”
Samantha took Molly’s pale little hand, placing it on her bulging stomach. “There’s a baby inside there,” Samantha said.
“Mama is fat like that too,” Molly said.
“She is?” Molly nodded. “Can you show me where Mama lives?” Molly took Samantha’s hand, leading her back through the forest to the road. Jackie waited in the same place Samantha had left her, tears forming behind her glasses.
Samantha picked up her daughter, stroking the girl’s hair to soothe her. “It’s all right, Mommy is back now. I made a new friend. This is your cousin Molly. Can you say hello?”
“Hello,” Jackie bit out.
“You have glasses like Daddy,” Molly said. “His are a bit thicker though. Mama says it’s because he spends too much time looking into microscopes and things.”
“Your mama is a very smart lady,” Samantha said. Molly skipped along the road ahead of her and Jackie, the forest thinning out gradually to reveal a clearing. A cabin like the one where Rebecca and Molly Brigham had lived stood in one corner with a field of wheat growing nearby.
At the sight of the house, Molly broke into a run. “Mama, mama, guess what?” she called out. “Aunt Samantha is here!”
Prudence appeared on the front steps of the cabin looking even more pregnant than Samantha. As in her days as a fat child, she wore a plain gray dress with her stomach pressing against the fabric. Her face looked older than her years with lines at the corner of her mouth and eyes and silver hairs standing out from the auburn ones at her temples.
She came forward to embrace Samantha in an awkward hug. “It’s good to see you again,” she said. “I wasn’t sure when you were coming or I would have met you at the beach.”
“It’s all right. Your daughter showed us the way.”
Prudence strained to pick up a fidgeting Molly. She examined the girl’s hair and then frowned. “You’ve been playing in the forest again, haven’t you?”
“Yes, Mama.”
“That’s very naughty, Molly. You know what I said would happen if you did it again, don’t you?”
Molly began to cry. “You can’t cut all my hair off. The other kids will laugh at me.”
“We’ll talk about this later. Right now I need you to go find your father and tell him Aunt Samantha is here. We’ll meet you in the park. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Mama.” Prudence set Molly on the ground and the girl scampered off in the direction of the town.
“She can be quite a handful. Who’s this? What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Jackie.”
“That’s a pretty name. I’m your aunt Prudence. I grew up with your mommy here.” Jackie nodded at this. “Where’s Joseph at? Didn’t he make the trip?”
“He’s in the middle of a project right now. Something very top secret and hush-hush. He can’t even tell me what it is,” Samantha said. “He really did want to come.”
“It’s all right. Where is he working now?”
“At Los Alamos in New Mexico,” Samantha said. “Not too far from my old stomping grounds.”
“So it’s kind of a homecoming for you,” Prudence said.
“You could say that.” Prudence led them onto another path, this one composed entirely of crushed granite. “It brings back a lot of old memories. Kind of like this.”
“What are you up to these days?”
“Since Joe started at Los Alamos I’ve been working with some businesses in Albuquerque to start the Pryde Foundation for abused children. Once I get my degree next year I’ll be able to do more hands-on work with the children instead of just fundraising.”
“That sounds like a worthy cause,” Prudence said.
“I just thought if someone had been there to reach out to Veronica—” Samantha had to bite down on her lip again to keep from crying. She set Jackie down to walk beside them to wipe at her eyes. “It’s so easy for children like her to fall through the cracks and turn into angry, violent adults. Our goal is to help them in childhood before it’s too late.”
; “That must be rewarding work.”
“Sometimes it is. Other times it can be frustrating. Some of these parents make Jonas Pryde look tame,” Samantha said, her lip curling in disgust. Jackie squeezed her hand, as if sensing her mother’s anger. “Well, anyway, I’ve had to take a leave of absence for a little while, until after the baby is born. What about you? Are you still the head matriarch around here?”
Prudence laughed at this. “Mostly I’m a figurehead anymore. The first couple years were rough. It seemed like we had a crisis every day. But slowly everyone started to get the hang of it. I only have to settle one or two disputes a month, which is good, because dealing with Molly can be a full-time job. I’m not sure from where that child gets her energy. Sometimes I wonder if she really isn’t a reincarnated Molly.” Prudence shook her head while Samantha snorted. “That reminds me, how’s Rebecca doing? I don’t get a chance to visit with her much anymore.”
“She’s confused, like all girls her age. She’ll figure things out eventually.” Samantha didn’t think it appropriate to mention anything about Callie or what they’d been doing when Samantha opened the bedroom door.
“It’s such a shame what happened to her. Let her know that we’re all praying for her.”
“I will,” Samantha said.
The path widened as they reached the town, which had doubled in size over the last eight years. A second line of shops intersected the originals to form an ‘L’ shape around the square and old church. Most surprising of all were the electric lights on inside each building and one storefront with televisions, radios, and other appliances. “Wendell figured out how to wire everything about four years ago,” Prudence explained. “Something about using heat below the surface. I don’t know, it’s too technical for me. You’d have to ask him about it.”
Prudence went on to explain that the dormitories where they’d grown up since the great hurricane were now used for storage and as emergency shelters. “Some people wanted to raze them because they were symbols of the old days, but it would be such a waste. The bigger problem is that the children like to get in there and play.”
“Children?”
“You don’t think I’m the only one, do you?” Prudence said, laying a hand on her belly. “Heavens, no. Not long after Molly was born there was a baby boom here. Helena had triplets if you can believe it. They’re all three going to take after her, I can tell already. Wendell, Annie, and I were there all night to help her deliver. Annie’s become quite an accomplished midwife because of it. She’s going to help me when it’s time.”
“How long is that?”
“About a month. What about you?”
“Two months or so.”
“I should try to hold it in so we can deliver at the same time. Wouldn’t it be great for our children to have the same birthdays?”
“That would be something. Do you have a name picked out?”
“Rodney if it’s a boy,” Prudence said, her cheeks flushing a bit at this. “Fiona if it’s a girl. You?”
“Jeremy if it’s a boy. There’s some Pryde family tradition about names beginning with a ‘J.’ Andrea if it’s a girl.”
Throughout the conversation, Jackie had followed along, one hand on the hem of Samantha’s shirt. Now as they passed by the bakery, with its aroma of baking bread, Jackie gave Samantha’s shirt a tug. “Mommy, I’m hungry.”
“It’s all right. Phyllis will let us have some bread,” Prudence said. She opened the door to the bakery, ushering them inside. Phyllis had grown heavier over the last eight years and not with pregnancy either. Her face and apron were littered with stains of varying colors from years of baking. When she squinted at Samantha, Jackie pressed tighter to her mother’s side. “Look who’s back. It’s Samantha and her little daughter. They’re a bit hungry from the trip over,” Prudence said.
“Samantha? I didn’t think we’d ever see you again,” Phyllis said. “What brings you here?”
“Just thought I’d visit. Show Jackie where her mother came from,” Samantha said.
“I just took a loaf out of the oven, but it needs to cool. Let me see what else I got.” Phyllis rummaged around the shelves until returning with a bundle wrapped in brown paper. She bent down to tousle Jackie’s hair, turning it white in parts with flour. “You’re cuter than your mom was at your age. She used to be nothing but a sack of bones. At least you’ve got a little meat on you.” Phyllis pinched a roll of fat beneath Jackie’s shirt.
“We’d better get going,” Prudence said. “Molly and Wendell are probably waiting for us in the park, unless she forgot to look for him. Do you remember seeing her go past here?”
“I saw her come running by here like the wind a few minutes ago. You should tell that child to be careful.”
“I do try. She just doesn’t listen.”
“You baby her too much, that’s why. She’ll end up spoiled at this rate. If you ask me—”
“Molly is my child. I’ll take care of her. Thank you for the food.” In that moment, Samantha realized the shy, timid girl she’d befriended after waking up in Eternity twenty years ago had disappeared. A strong, confident woman existed in her place now, a woman capable of leading an entire community. Prudence had been right eight years ago to say they could get along without Samantha. Not only had they gotten by; they had flourished in the years since she’d left.
Jackie thanked Phyllis as well and then hurried out the door ahead of Samantha. Inside the package Phyllis had given them were a dozen sugar cookies. Jackie held one up and then looked down at where Phyllis had pinched her. “Mommy, am I fat?” she asked.
“No, sweetie. You’re just the right size.” Jackie had always been a pudgy child, though nowhere near as fat as Samantha or Prudence at her age. This answer seemed to comfort her; she ate the cookie and then another as they followed the path up to the meadow.
The vacant meadow of Samantha’s youth had been transformed into a park, complete with a playground, sandbox, and benches. Helena, who had not lost the weight from childbirth, sat on one of the benches, wiping the face of a girl who looked just like her as a child. “It’s you,” she said to Samantha. “I must look like a complete wreck to you. Go ahead and laugh. I’m sure you want to after everything I did to you.”
“You look wonderful. Your children are adorable.”
Helena took no notice of these compliments. “It’s all his fault. He did this to me. I used to be the most beautiful girl on the whole island and now I’m ruined.”
“Mommy, I want to pway!” her daughter squealed.
“Fine, go play. Stay where I can see you.”
Samantha knelt down next to Jackie. “Sweetie, do you want to go play with the other kids?” Jackie shook her head. “Come on, sweetie, it’ll be fun. They aren’t going to bite you.”
“I don’t want to,” Jackie said, her lip trembling as if she were about to cry.
Before Samantha could say anything, Molly almost bowled into her. “Mama, Mama, I found Daddy! He was over at Mr. Davenport’s house fixing their tractor.”
“Trying to fix it,” Wendell said. “I don’t think I have the right parts for it.”
Unlike Prudence, Wendell looked almost unchanged since Samantha last saw him. He was still not much taller than a child, although he had cultivated a thin beard. He wiped grime and sweat off his face and hands before hugging Samantha. “Molly said you were back. At first I thought it was one of her stories, but you really are here.”
“It’s good to see you again,” she said. “It’s amazing what you’ve done here.”
“A little ingenuity and a lot of work, that’s all we needed,” he said. “There’s nothing we can’t do when we put our minds to it.”
“I won’t disagree with you there. I’m sure Joe could use your help at the laboratory.”
“Thanks, but we’re pretty happy here. Most of us.”
“Most?”
“There’ve been a handful who left, seeking greener pastures. We figure there’s n
o danger in letting them go now that it’s gone,” Prudence said. She tousled Molly’s curly hair. “Why don’t you and Jackie go play so the grown-ups can talk?”
Molly took Jackie’s hand, dragging her off before Jackie could protest. They waited until her excited babbling had faded away before finding a secluded bench to sit down. Samantha and Prudence sighed with relief as one. “What about it?” Samantha asked. “Are you sure it’s gone?”
“I excavated it myself last year,” Wendell said. “I did it at night so no one would know. There isn’t anything left. Not even a drop.”
“I guess that’s for the best,” Samantha said. Prudence and Wendell nodded at this assessment. She didn’t let on to Joseph, but there were mornings when she woke up worrying she might find herself a little girl again. This had become worse since she found out she was pregnant. With the Fountain of Youth truly gone, perhaps now the nightmares would go with it.
Samantha rested both hands on her stomach, feeling the reassuring kick of her baby again. “There’s something I wanted to ask you. I hope you don’t mind, but I didn’t come here just for a visit.”
Prudence took one of her hands. “Whatever it is, I’m sure we won’t mind. You’re my sister, after all.”
“Well, Joseph and I are finally getting married. Officially, that is. We’ve been pretty much married for the last eight years, but now we’ve got all the paperwork ready.” She stopped to take a deep breath, fighting down her sudden nervousness. “We’re going to sign the papers at the courthouse in Bangor in a few weeks and I was hoping you two might come as witnesses. If Prudence can travel.”
“Oh my, yes! Of course we will,” Prudence said. She put an arm around Samantha’s shoulder and squeezed. “This is wonderful news. I can’t believe it.” They began to cry at the same time, the tide of hormones driving them into a frenzy of sobbing. “I’m so happy for you,” Prudence said.
“Congratulations,” Wendell said. “If there’s anything we can do to help—”
“I was hoping you might make me a dress,” Samantha said to Prudence. “Nothing fancy of course.”
“I’d be honored,” Prudence said. “We’ll take some measurements in the shop on the way back. I’ll make sure to leave some extra room. And I can make something for Jackie too. Wouldn’t it be so adorable for her and Molly to have matching dresses?”
Children of Eternity Omnibus Page 90
